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Caitlin MacNeal

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Caitlin MacNeal is a News Writer based in Washington, D.C. Before joining TPM, Caitlin interned and wrote for the Huffington Post, the Sunlight Foundation and Slate. She is a graduate of Georgetown University.

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Caitlin

Indiana lawmakers have agreed on changes to the controversial religious freedom bill that will protect gays and lesbians from discrimination, the Indianapolis Star reported on Thursday morning.

According to the Star, the altered legislation will prohibit businesses from using the religious freedom law to defend discrimination against customers on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. However, the law will not make gays and lesbians a protected class under civil rights law. Lawmakers also added protections for gays and lesbians in housing and employment, according to the Star.

The Indiana pizzeria that made headlines on Wednesday for vowing never to cater a gay wedding decided to close it doors, at least temporarily, due to the backlash over the owner's comments on gay marriage and the Indiana religious freedom law.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) argued in a brief filed to the Supreme Court last week that his state's ban on gay marriage is not discriminatory because it does not allow gay or straight people to marry people of the same sex.

"Kentucky’s marriage laws treat homosexuals and heterosexuals the same and are facially neutral. Men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, are free to marry persons of the opposite sex under Kentucky law, and men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, cannot marry persons of the same sex under Kentucky law," Beshear's lawyer, Leigh Gross Latherow, wrote in the brief.

The CEO of Walmart on Tuesday called for the governor of Arkansas to veto the religious freedom bill passed by the state's legislature on Tuesday, which may allow discrimination against gays and lesbians.

The legislation in Arkansas is similar to the controversial law signed last week by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R).

The coaches of University of Connecticut's basketball team will not attend the Final Four games in Indianapolis this week due to Indiana's controversial religious freedom law that may allow discrimination against gay people.

Although University of Connecticut did not make the Final Four, head coach Kevin Ollie and his assistant coaches were set to attend the National Association of Basketball Coaches convention in Indianapolis. Since the university receives state funding, the school's president had to abide by Gov. Dan Malloy's (D) ban on state funded travel to Indiana, according to the Hartford Courant.

The Flight Attendant Union on Monday called on the state of Indiana to fix its controversial religious freedom law that may allow businesses to discriminate against gay people.

"We call on the Indiana State legislature to undo this abhorrent law. And just as we have done throughout our history, such as the battle we waged against Big Tobacco, we will relentlessly battle the hate spewing from the Governor's office in Indiana or wherever it may exist until our communities are free of hate," AFA International President Sara Nelson (pictured above) said in a statement.

The athletic director at the University of Southern California, Pat Haden, said on Tuesday that he would not attend the NCAA's College Football Playoff committee meeting in Indianapolis this week, due to the new Indiana religious freedom law that may allow discrimination against gays and lesbians.

I am the proud father of a gay son. In his honor, I will not be attending the CFP committee meeting in Indy this week. #EmbraceDiversity

ESPN host Keith Olbermann criticized the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Monday for not moving the Final Four games from Indianapolis after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed the religious freedom bill that may allow businesses to discriminate against gay people.

Olbermann called on the NCAA to move the Final Four games and the league's headquarters from Indianapolis and use its "moral force" against the law.